APS Redistricting: Organized Neighbors Of Edgewood Approves Whitefoord Elementary Position Statement

The Organized Neighbors of Edgewood voted unanimously on Feb. 20 to support a position statement it will submit to Atlanta Public Schools officials that aims to save its community institution from closure.

Monday night's vote in support of Whitefoord Elementary School follows a Feb. 10 vote by its local school council, whose members drafted the letter.

Whitefoord, named after an area landowner, Whitefoord Smith, opened in 1923.

The school has a total student seating capacity of 572, is only 42 percent full, with 240 students.

The school is one of several within APS that is underutilized, fueling the district's current redistricting initiative.

Citywide, some schools are underutilized while others have more students than than seats and have to user trailers.

That's resulted in two preliminary options under review by district officials and parents. Those options are designed to reduce unnecessary capacity in the district, which has about 60,000 seats but roughly 47,000 students.

Under the first option, Whitefoord would close, with its students rezoned to attend Burgess-Peterson Academy in East Atlanta. The second option has it remaining open with students from Reynoldstown and Cabbagetown being rezoned from Ed S. Cook Elementary to Whitefoord.

ONE supports the second option.

In its position statement, the neighborhood notes its ties to Emory University through the Whitefoord Community Program.

Founded in 1994, by George W. Brumley Jr., then-chairman of Emory's Department of Pediatrics, the Whitefoord Community Program is a full-service medical clinic staffed by that department, which serves the Edgewood community.

It services about 1,300 people per year.

The neighborhood position statement also notes:

• Whitefoord's business ties with major corporate sponsors such as Marriott Corp.
• A new principal ONE says is focused on student achievement
• Walkability and easy access for the core Edgewood residents who are zoned to attend
• Its in-zone school attendance rate, which at 69 percent, is higher than most nearby grammar schools

"We are proud of Edgewood and its diversity. We are proud of the history of our community and the success of our neighborhood school," the letter reads. "Whitefoord Elementary School is indispensable to the historic community of Edgewood."